New Marine recruiter comes to Lake County

LAKEPORT -- Nine years ago, Marine Sgt. Jeff Atkinson was in Philadelphia, Pa., now he is the new recruiter for Lake County.

Atkinson, 28, arrived on Jan. 21 after requesting the position because his wife is from San Jose.

Atkinson has a 5-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son, he said.

"The family is enjoying being in Lake County," he said. "My daughter just started T-Ball in Lakeport."

Atkinson's family has a history with the armed forces.

"I have five brothers who were in the Marines and one who was a Navy SEAL," Atkinson said. He has 10 brothers in all

Atkinson is an aviations operation specialist. He performs flight data analysis, reserves air space and works with air control towers to make sure everybody knows the location of aircrafts, he said.

According to Atkinson, joining the Marines pushed him into roles of leadership and responsibility.

"It is an incredible opportunity," Atkinson said. "Within a couple of years of joining the Marines, I went from being a kid on the streets of Philly to having experts ask me questions about flight programs and data analyses."

J. W. Burch, IV is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636 ext. 39 or at jburch@record-bee.com.